Let’s assume for a minute that we want to improve our
business relationships. One of the key things we first want to look at is how
we are aligned internally as an IT unit. Are we cohesive enough to understand
what activities we are performing to provide the business outcomes that our
customers require. Before we get ahead of ourselves we should ensure that our
own IT activities are aligned to achieve what the business outcomes are. Sometimes,
but not always, IT tends to focus on the work at hand and complete tasks in
their own silos which may not quite get us the entire distance.
Once we have alignment (and it’s an ongoing activity in
its own right) we can really focus on how we can help the business achieve their
goals. In some organizations they may have the “Top 5” goals for the year
posted on a wall or a intranet site, but what we need to better understand is
from the customers perspective how are we going to be able to help them do
that. The answer is we ask them.
Spending time with the customers to see what is working
well and what is not is key to achieving this goal. We may have made several
assumptions on what we think the customer wants without even spending the time
to find out from them. This activity may be as simple as quick coffee, elevator
chat, visit of a team meeting, etc.
I can already hear some of the “yeah buts” so to dispel with
a few I will run through the list of what typically pops up as an excuse:
1. I am
too busy
2. Where
do I start
3. Isn’t
this something senior leaders are already doing
4. Maybe
the customers are too busy
Here are some answers to the above
1. I am
too busy
Everyone is busy, but let’s
suppose that without soliciting information or having customer insight you find
out down the road that the requirements that you had put together or were
delivering / supporting were incorrect and had to be reworked. Would that few
moments in time have saved you all the rework?
2. Where
do I start?
This can be daunting, but everyone in a support role has some sort of
key into the customer base. Leverage those connections to make others. Relationship
building isn’t a one person activity, if your entire department takes it upon
themselves to reach out to you will be able to cover off more ground than you
can imagine. Document any important information about the business workings you
discover and share them with your team as well. Knowledge
is power they say.
3. Isn’t
this something senior leaders are already doing
They might be, but you then
have to wonder if there a disconnect between IT and leadership similar to you
and your customer, after all they are customer too. Talk with your IT leader to
see what connections are happening and then challenge your leader to keep you
as informed as you can be.
4. Maybe
the customers are too busy
Again, everyone is busy but if
you engage with the business in terms of helping them to make their customer
experience as positive as possible they won’t mind spending a few minutes to help
you help them. Even if they are satisfied with the service, providing what is
working back to your IT support team is a step in the right direction.
It would be interesting to
see what initiatives are started over something as simple as a coffee or sandwich
and what returns can be made on the simplest investment of time on your
customer experience and bottom line.
Let me know what experiences
you have had, what has worked or not so much
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